Ok, To start off I should mention that I'm a very strong advocate for gun safety, but that means training, not restriction. Recently there was a Shootout (http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1144164123190920.xml&coll=7&thispage=1) in a city less than an hour from here. Apparently, the police raided a home. In the confusion the officers that entered the front door got into a shootout with the officers that entered the back door. The suspect was in the basement. What made me laugh hysterically is when a very strong supporter for banning guns was interviewed on the local news last night they said "This is just another case that proves that guns should only be in the hands of trained the police."

Now, personally speaking, I would rather have my 12 year old cousin in on that raid, as he would have A) recognized his target and not shot at a cop, and B) if he did shoot, he would have HIT WHAT HE AIMED AT. It scares the living crap out of me that officers that are trained not to fire unless fired up by an armed suspect could possibly get into a firefight with each other. It scares me even more than they didnít hit each other. Personally, I donít want people with that bad of judgment and that bad of aim to be allowed to carry a gun, much less be the only ones allowed to carry a gun.

Breandan

April 5th, 2006, 02:44 PM

Eithne wants to kill me for this, but at work, we get shot at on a regular basis. Except for one incident, they haven't even gotten close, as they are the crappiest shots on earth- they aim too high, hitting the awning three feet over our heads (we are up on top of our patrol truch to get a birds-eye view). A while back, we had people who apparently had epileptic fits or palsey when they shot, because the wall behind us is pockmarked with bullet holes, except for the area where we park :D (have to get a picture of that one of these days).

In my experience, when it comes to the criminal element of cities, when they shoot AT you, stand still and they will miss. If they are shooting at someone ELSE, get behind them. When it comes to law enforcement, well, let's be frank- I pay my officers better than HPD cops get paid, and they have better training (courtesy of Gunsite (http://gunsite.com/)and Morrigan Consulting (http://www.morrigan-consulting.com/)), and this is because of an ongoing trend of big-city police agencies not keeping pace with the standards and pay scale of the private sector. Potential cops can find better-paying jobs that off better training with PMCs and executive protection companies, and the law enforcement departments of the cities wind up with the bottom of the barrel of recruits more often than not these days.

Making it worse are stupid political stunts that are pulled that drive away police officers, or, as in the case of Houston, show a lack of foresight when they don't adjust their hiring for a massive wave of simultaneous retirements. Houston is 2,130 officers short last I checked because a crapload retired at the same time, and the PD didn't up their hiring numbers to compensate. With a 250% rise in crime due to the Katrina people, it's been a bloody cast-iron nightmare down there.

Our company policy with any sites in Houston is that the officers are their first, last, and ONLY line of defense, because the police won't arrive until an hour after the call. As such, instead of a chair-moistening fat retiree sitting in a cheesy polyester uniform with a .38 on his hip we have officers in BDUs wearing lvl III body armour, carrying automatic pistols, riot shotguns, and M-4, with a tactical EMT on shift with a full jump kit (enhanced medical kit used by paramedics), a LOT of spare magazines and extra ammunition, and so on (granted, this is in the not-so-nice neighborhoods like Acres Home and Fifth Ward.) Because the police are so swamped, our people have to be ready for anything, and able to hold out for up to an hour if necessary.